Autodesk in Visualisation: Applying the Techniques of Film & TV to Visualisation This one hour session will focus on providing an overview of leading film techniques, and how you can stand out from the crowd by applying these to your visualisation work. Attend this webinar to learn the latest techniques for becoming a visualisation professional and see how the powerful toolset of the 3ds Max Entertainment Creation Suite can help you achieve your creative vision. The session will also include time for Q&A.

Saturday, 23 July 2011

When working with complex scenes, or needing to work with ‘blueprints’ it’s always a good idea to make the selected object see-through. This can be easily achieved by pressing the Alt+X shortcut key combination.

Friday, 22 July 2011

I just wanted to let you know I will be at next months 3ds Max London User Group. This month I will be talking about Motion Capture workflows, discussing the new viewports, and sharing some tips and tricks. Many of you have also asked to get an overview of SLATE, the node-based material editor. This continues to be a hot-topic for 3ds Max users, and is certianly one of the most powerful workflows for the 2011> user.

This is being held on wednesday, 3rd August, from 18.30 onwards, for a 19:00 start.

Thursday, 21 July 2011

For those that aren't aware Project Photofly 2.0 is an Autodesk Labs project (with a current rating of 4.7/5) that allows you to take standard photos (approx. 30-50) of an object or real world scene, and then upload the resulting jpgs or tiffs to an Autodesk cloud based server. This then reconstructs mesh data from the multiple photos and supplies you with a model to exported for use in other applications. The resultant mesh can be exported as a DWG or OBJ. Now this is where it gets very interesting for the 3ds Max user. As you may know we updated our OBJ importer a couple of releases back to allow for a smoother transition from applications such as Mudbox (before FBX was introduced) or Zbrush. This enhanced workflow allows us to bring in the extremely high res data into 3ds Max and optimise it for either rendering, scene reconstruction or environments.

As I'm sure your aware, 3ds Max has a huge array of tools and workflows for optimising the resultant mesh to ensure its efficiency. This is where it gets interesting for us Max users. Rather than spending half a day constructing complex models of window arches, vases, entire facades of buildings, then how about we just took some photos and then let an app do all the hard work. No matter which market you use Max in - be it Games, film, or Design Visualisation - then this tool should be of interest. For the games guys, this tool offers a way of quickly taking photos of existing real world locations/vehicles and using this a 3d blue print, to build upon using tools such as 'Graphite's' robust free form tools (extend, topology etc.) From here you can create Low Res geometry from the imported High Res, whilst retaining full control over the flow of the quads.

Project Photofly has already had a huge amount of downloads, and why not as its free! It is also in its second release, providing a very simple and optimised workflow for constructing the geometry with the utmost ease.

So let's have a look at the workflow and considerations when working with Photofly and 3ds Max. Its important to note, this is my first try with the workflow and includes the mistakes I made. I have also uploaded my models to allow you to work through the processes,and see the impressive mesh quality before you download Project Photofly.

The model we will be working with is shown below. This was rendered using the high-res mesh and iray. Each frame was specified to take only 30 seconds per frame. The total animation took just under 55minutes on a HP8730w laptop, using an NVidia FX 3700 mobile GPU. (Hence the minor ‘progressive’ defects in the render output.) No post was applied, and all effects such as DoF (depth of field) were rendered into the file. As you may know, DoF does not ‘cost’ anything when using iRay as the render engine.

Project Photofly and 3ds Max iray test

Please note: the below process should took around 30 mins to work through.

1. First install the free application:

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2. Whilst installing, start taking multiple photos of the item you want to be automatically translated into a mesh. For my example I used the below Buddha. I would recommend you use a fixed focal length, and not a low f-stop. we don't want depth of field that may cause ‘blurryness’ in the model construction stage. (I shot using a Canon 7D with a 18mm lense.)

It is recommended you shot at 5 degree increments around the item. covering all angles that you want to see in the model. Copy these over to your computer, in an easy to reach file/folder location.

I took 56 photos of this object at a 2592x1728 resolution in a jpg format.

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3. Make sure all photos are vertically set inside of windows explore. If not, a quick way to do this is, is select all the photos - then Right Click and choose rotate clockwise/anti-clockwise.

4. Once Project Photofly is installed you with be confronted by the apps main interface.

5. From here, select ‘Create a new Photo Scene’

6. and then choose your photos.

7. This will then upload all the photos to cloud server for you. A quick registration is needed.

and you can choose whether to ‘Wait’ or be notified by email when complete.

8. My upload took approx 3 minutes to complete before a had a low res mesh to work with. I’m sure you will agree this is speedy when you consider each image was approx 1.88mb in size, and I had 56 of them.

9. I chose to be emailed the link, to ensure i had it should I need it again. This then allowed me to download the completed “.3dp” file.

10. From here, you just need to open the returned file.

The model will first of all open in ‘draft’ mode. This is a low quality mesh, allowing you to asses if more photos are needed for areas that are incomplete or inaccurate.

11. If you don’t ensure your photos are vertically aligned you will end up with a model on its side, as seen below.

12. We now have a mesh in our viewport, that also shows are real world camera locations.

13. From here start removing parts of the mesh that are not required. For instance the ground plane. You do this by using the top left icon, selecting parts of the mesh in the viewport and pressing delete.

14. Once satisfied with the mesh, I would recommend converting the mesh to a higher quality. For 3ds Max I went for the ‘Maximum’ resolution. I will always choose Maximum as I am confident that 3ds Max’s tools allow me to quickly bring this down to a low res dependant on my requirements.

Chose this icon:

and then select ‘Maximum’

15. To improve efficiency, you can do this only on selected portions.

16. Again you have the choice to ‘Wait’ or be email notified. This submission process, understandably, took a little longer. 12 minutes for a very detailed model.

17. Once returned, the model takes around 30 seconds to be opened in Project Photofly.

I would strongly recommend the below settings to be changed for a typical project of one object.

The below options will copy the unwrapped textures and original photos to your designated ‘Project Folder structure.’ On the odd occasion you may get an error message. Don’t worry, its still brought them across for you.

Finally, ensure this option in the top right corner is disabled: This will make certain your model is upright in the scene space.

23. It will then start to import:

24. and hey presto! you now have a textured and dense mesh inside of 3ds Max.

As an example of just how dense this mesh is:

25. As a final recommendation, I would explore the ‘ProOptimizer’ modifier options, to allow you to easily recalculate the geometry for redefining the mesh for other uses. Make certain you toggle ‘Keep materials’ and ‘Keep UV boundaries’ sub-options, before calculating the optimisation.

You will have then have a mesh that you can tweak for your needs. In this quick test I went down to 5%. (from 527083 faces to 21645 faces) before seeing ANY noticeable visual difference.

26. Finally you can also examine the Unwrapped textures, should you need to add or remove detail. These textures are created as a JPG.

27. From here, if you plan to use iRay with the models, I would recommend you swop out the ‘standard’ material for an Arch&Des material.

As a final, and probably most important tip, I would recommend not trying to do this when your cat is in the room, and in playful mood:

It would be great to see some of your 3ds Max / Project Photofly examples. Please feel free to either email me or upload some links in the comments section.

Whilst your over at Autodesk Labs, you should also explore Project Helix. This is a toolset for allowing 3ds Max to work with incredibly dense Point cloud data, as well as rendering directly with mental ray. By using Project Helix you can turn laser scans into models.

The Color Correction map has a huge amount of functionality for completing some basic Adobe Photoshop colour correcting workflows within 3ds Max.

The main benefit of this is results in you thinking about texture (and inturn RAM) optimisations. When needing variations of the same bitmap, I would always recommend using the ‘color correction’ map type to lower memory footprints for rendering. It's all too common to see the same bitmap repeated with a minor colour alteration applied.

The below two images shows the map location (after Right-Clicking) and where I would suggest placing the map within the node flow inside SLATE.

Below we can also see the extensive functionality and control contained within this under-used map. This is the standard parameters found within the 'docked' compact editor. I would strongly recommend you also extend the actual nodes parameters, as you will be surprised by the mount of information this exposes additionally to what we can see below.

So the next time you need to amend a map, think whether this is the most efficient way of doing it? Be it from a workflow perspective swopping between or applications, or from a RAM overhead This is an extremely important area where we, as an industry, move into GPU accelerated rendering. For example 3ds Max's iRay implementation from mental images and Nvidia.

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

When using OpenEXR from 3ds Max to 3ds Max Composite, ensure you ‘Save as Tiles’ for increased performance inside of Composite. This can be easily setup via the standard image 'Render Output File' Settings. To do this ensure OpenEXR is selected from the file type drop down box. Once you enter the files name it and press 'Save' it will automatically prompt you to review the settings. However, you can also amend these settings by selecting the highlighted 'Setup' button below.

From here it will open the below dialogue window (OpenEXR Configuration). You should see in 2012 that the default is now configured for 3ds Max Composite.

If using render elements (which I strongly recommend) ensure the toggle option is enabled. This will automatically propagate all your pre-configured elements into the OpenEXR file.

For Adobe After Effects or Photoshop, I would recommend you change the 'save-as Tiles' option to use 'Scanline' as the storage type option.

It is also worth noting that its a common misconception to have to render at 32-bit depth. a Half float 16-bit depth will more than suitable for most tasks, and have the benefit of a lighter footprint. (Found in the top left corner of the settings window.)

Monday, 18 July 2011

I’m sure you’ve seen many posts on 'correct' Gamma usage, but one area that often gets overlooked is the “extra” maps, that aren’t the usual Diffuse, or the end visual settings. These are critical to your final model.

Therefore I wanted to highlight this extra consideration that has a huge effect on the final results. In short, remember that when using a ‘correct’ gamma workflow, you need to ensure the gamma settings of the following (common) maps, are set to 1.0.

Bump

Specs

Normal

Opacity

It's usually common to see people using a 'correct' gamma workflow, but they have completely forgotten that the workflow needs to be constantly considered throughout the projects life-cycle. You should repeatedly ask yourself on file load "where has this bitmap come from and where is it going." As mentioned, the easiest way is to check on file load in the settings options. The settings can be found in bottom left corner of the standard bitmap load options dialogue box (file select). Seen below:

Also, you should ideally ensure that your preferences match the below. In particular the two highlighted toggle options. These ensure you can 'preview' the material swatches correctly. Remember the VFB (or Rendered Frame window) only previews the gamma settings.

You can access this dialogue by the below area of the main menu:

Its worth noting these preferences are set for a LDR range workflow. If saving to a HDR format, such as OpenEXR I recommend changing the output to 1.0. The benefits of the workflow in 3ds Max allow you to change this on an image by image basis, via the file select options shown in the very top image. Ensure the above settings are set for your most common choices.

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

After my recent EUE talk I have received many emails asking for some good resources for tips and tricks. As I'm sure you will agree there's a huge amount of free indepth resources out there, but I've struggled to find examples of tips that can be quickly and easily implemented, without involving a huge workflow process to remember.

On this note, I'm going to be uploading 100 very short 3ds Max tips and recommendations over the next 100 days. (That's until the 25th of October!!) The intention is that these will be able to benefit any workflow immediate, and can be easily remembered, by focusing on common tasks. Many of the tips will be around simple enhancements that are commonly overlooked by users. I hope you find some of them of use.

The first of the 100 tips will be uploaded next week, Monday 18 July. I hope they benefit you, and please feel free to send me any feedback. You can also follow them directly on Twitter using @3dsjamiesjewels

Why not have a look and see if you can benefit from any of the info. I would also encourage you to share some knowledge by writing a guest post. Please email me if interested, as this is a great way to help raise your 3ds Max profile.

Friday, 08 July 2011

Just a quick post this afternoon, to ask if you have voted for your favourite CGI work yet, in the 3dWorld CG Awards 2011? This is being run in association with Autodesk, and is aimed at celebrating the artists behind much of the work we, the public, can often take for granted.

To view the categories and nominations, please visit this link. You can vote for as many or as few categories as you wish.

Please make sure you vote and most importantly, have your say in this fast paced industry.